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BBC announces new TV season celebrating LGBTQ content

The BBC has announced a new LGBTQ-themed season of content to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Sexual Offences Act 1967, which partially decriminalised homosexuality in Britain. The news… read more

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BBC announces new TV season celebrating LGBTQ content

The BBC has announced a new LGBTQ-themed season of content to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Sexual Offences Act 1967, which partially decriminalised homosexuality in Britain.

The news comes after Channel 4 announced a similar season of content, which will include a documentary about same-sex parenting fronted by Hollyoaks‘ Kieron Richardson.

The new BBC season will be titled ‘Gay Britannia’ and feature bold new stories about the LGBTQ community, as well as highlighting challenges, pressures and unseen histories. Comedian Susan Calman, actor Andrew Scott, crime writer Val McDermid, musician Olly Alexander, QI host Sandi Toksvig and actor Simon Callow will all play a role in the new season.

Included in the season will be the explosive new BBC Two dramas Against The Law about journalist Peter Wildeblood, who was convicted of homosexuality in the 1950s; as well as a compelling new drama Man In An Orange Shirt, starring Vanessa Redgrave.

Timely documentaries will also form a large part of the season, including the important Is It Safe To Be Gay In The UK? on BBC Two, which will explore the prevalence of LGBTQ hate crimes within the UK.

An exploration of the LGBTQ’s community’s contribution to popular culture, What Gay Did For Art, will also appear on BBC Two, as well as Susan Calman and Stephen K Amos’s Prejudice and Pride: The People’s History Of LGBTQ Britain, a new history on the memorabilia that has changed the lives of LGBTQ people in the last 50 years.

On BBC Four, Gluck will front a new documentary of the history of female homosexuality and its representation in the arts, while writers including Mark Gatiss will offer their take on the the 50th-anniversary celebrations in Queers.

On BBC Three, musician Olly Alexander will open up about his long-term struggles with mental health and its impact within the gay community in Olly Alexander: Growing Up Gay.

Youngsters defect to ITV2 and E4 after BBC Three is axed

Youngsters have defected from BBC to competitors after the closure of BBC Three, according to a new report.
Linear viewing on the BBC dropped by 18% among those aged 16-34 between March and May this year, while competitors ITV2 and E4 received a significant boost.

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Youngsters defect to ITV2 and E4 after BBC Three is axed

Youngsters have defected from the BBC to competitors after the closure of BBC Three, according to a new report.

According to figures published by Thinkbox, linear viewing on the BBC dropped by 18% among those aged 16-34 between March and May this year. BBC Three ceased operating as a television channel in mid-February.

During this same period, competing broadcasters saw their numbers boosted significantly in BBC’s Three’s target age range.

ITV2 saw an increase of more than a quarter (27%) year-on-year in television viewing between March and June, while E4 also witnessed gains of 4%.

BBC iPlayer viewing remained flat across the same period, which suggests those who would normally have tuned into BBC Three did not transfer their viewing to on demand.

Accordingly, the share of commercial TV viewing has also increased during the first half of 2016 – 67.4% compared to 66% in the first six months of 2015.

Thinkbox research and planning director Matt Hill said: “TV is thriving on all screens, but the importance of TV channels on TV sets cannot be overlooked. They remain the first port of call for the majority of people of all ages.

“The apparent boost that commercial TV has received from BBC Three’s disappearance from the schedules underlines this fact – a strategy that is in stark contrast to the imminent arrival of Viceland on commercial TV.”

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MPs say BBC must publish details of stars earning more than the Prime Minister

A committee of MPs has said the BBC should publish details of television stars earning more than the Prime Minister.

The BBC is already planning to name those who earn more than £450,000, which is expected to reveal stars such as Chris Evans, Gary Lineker and Graham Norton.

However, the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee has said the BBC should extend this to all stars earning more than the Prime Minister – that is, all those receiving salaries of more than £143,000 a year.

The committee’s chairman, Conservative MP Damian Collins said: “There will be agents, managers, headhunters who will know very well what different people are being paid.

“That’s part of the secret knowledge that people within the industry have but it’s not shared by licence fee payers – the people that provide the money in the first place.”

He added it was standard practice in public bodies to declare any salaries above the Prime Minister’s salaries.

In a statement response, the BBC argued that such a move would make it easy for rival broadcasters to poach their stars.

They said: “We cut our bill for talent pay by £8m last year, but creating a poacher’s charter by publishing the salaries of individual presenters and actors wouldn’t be in the interests of licence fee payers who say they want the best talent on the BBC.”

They said that the corporation has “led the way in transparency by publishing details of senior manager salaries over £150,000”.

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BBC iPlayer users are legally required to pay the licence fee from September

BBC iPlayer viewers will be required to buy a TV licence from September 1, 2016.

Previously, iPlayer viewers were not required to pay for a licence due to a loophole which meant that only live television required payment. Catch-up programmes found on iPlayer did not require a license, whereas watching live or recorded television did.

The change was announced in March by former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale, after the government decided to act on claims that the BBC was losing money through the loophole.

Whittingdale admitted the government needed to modernise the current system, saying: “When the licence fee was invented, video on demand did not exist.

“The BBC works on the basis that all who watch it pay for it. Giving a free ride to those who enjoy Sherlock or Bake Off an hour, a day or a week after they are broadcast was never intended and is wrong.”

The new rules will apply regardless of device, and so include laptops, smartphones, tablets, TV set top boxes and games consoles. Customers already paying for a TV licence will not be affected.

However, the loophole still exists for non-BBC viewers. Other catch-up and on-demand services will continue to not require a TV licence, including ITV Player, All4, My5, Netflix and NOW TV.

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BBC cuts spending on TV content as it looks to improve digital offerings

The BBC has reduced spending on TV content and increased spending on digital services, according to the BBC Annual Report 2015/16.

The 162-page document details that spending on TV content has decreased from £1.8 billion to £1.7 billion, a fall of 5.2%. Meanwhile, spending on digital services has risen from £125.6 million to £153.3 million, a 23% increase.

In February, the BBC has converted BBC Three from a linear to digital channel, which contributed to a £10.4 million increase in digital expenditure.

However, the total spent on the youth-skewed channel decreased by a dramatic 35.5% from £82 million in 2014/15 to £52.9 million in the year before February’s move. From February onwards, BBC Three was included in the BBC Online spend.

It is not clear yet how the move to online has been received, however the report did note that overall reach for the channel fell from 18.4% to 17.1% of the UK population. Average time spent viewing the channel also decreased.

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REVIEW: Witless – marks for effort but needs a touch more wit

In what has been dubbed the “female version of The Wrong Mans” – but with a significantly smaller budget – flatmates Rhona and Leanne witness a gang-related murder and are forced into the witness protection programme. This unforeseen upheaval comes at a rather awkward time as Rhona was hoping to escape her rather enthusiastic flatmate by moving house.

Leanne enjoys her new creative freedom, utilising her BTEC in acting to bring “depth” to her new character. However, Rhona struggles with the jeopardy of the situation and jumps at the slightest scare.

Kerry Howard (Leanne) starred as Laura in Him & Her and made a brief appearance in I Give it a Year alongside Rose Byrne and Anna Faris. She has comedic blood in her veins as the little sister of well-known stand-up Russell Howard. Zoe Boyle (Rhona) has made the leap from drama to comedy for this show as she was previously known best for her roles on Downton Abbey and Sons of Anarchy.

The two work well together in a typical “odd-couple” or funny gal/straight gal dynamic with Howard providing the obligatory “doh!” moments and Boyle erring on the side of realism with her frequent panic attacks.

At this time, after just the first episode, other characters are very much secondary but we have high hopes for the teen delinquents played by newcomers Nicholas Fruin and Tom Cawte. Their naivety and bravado make for a lethal combination; yet they provide many of the comic moments of the opening episode. Also making an appearance is John Inverdale who contributes a charmingly funny cameo as the presenter of a witness protection instructional video.

The mundane has a starring role in Witless; from the instantly comic Bristolian accent to the bleak vista of an almost empty strip club in the afternoon. It is this combined with the snappy editing and intriguing concept which works well for the sitcom. A short blast of content at only 28 minutes – a rare occurrence these days – also works in favour of Witless. Unfortunately it can also be damaging as the already formulaic comedy, heavily relying on stereotypes, only seems more predictable.

Witless is an entertaining, half-hour romp with two naturally funny female leads and a whole lot of potential. This pilot episode has enough to keep our funny bone satisfied without really splitting our sides just yet.

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WATCH: Team Jacob out in full force for Taylor Lautner world record attempt

Minus two degree weather was no deterrent to Taylor Lautner fans this afternoon, who arrived at BBC Broadcasting House by the droves to have their photo taken with the Twilight star.

The aim was ostensibly to beat a Guinness World Record previously held by The Rock for the most selfies taken in 3 minutes (that record standing at 105 selfies), but also marked BBC Three’s final day on terrestrial television before moving to online, and the launch of Cuckoo season three, starring Lautner and Welsh comedian Greg Davies.

After a long, cold wait, screaming fans announced the arrival of the (former) teen idol, who carried a megaphone and looked ready for his close-ups.

“This is a total team effort, I need all of you … I think we can do it. But we’re going to have to be focussed, we’re going to have to move fast, and I’m going to have to keep the pictures from being blurry”, he projected to the crowds. And just like that, the security barriers were down and the challenge was underway.

As fans from as young as five years old descended on Taylor, the actor’s selfie-taking arm was working like a machine. And yet, in spite of a decent effort by all involved, the World Record was not broken, and remains safely held in the musclebound arms of Dwayne Johnson.

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BBC increase VOD offerings with new BBC Store

The BBC has today launched a new digital store, dedicated to bringing the BBC up to date with competitors and offering users exclusive never-before-available content for purchase.

From the morning of Thursday, November 5, users will be able to visit bbcstore.com to register and start using the service. They will be able to purchase shows old and new, with more than 7000 hours of present and previously archived content already available to purchase. This number is set to rise to more than 10,000 hours in a year’s time.

Speaking at a press conference held yesterday (November 4), BBC Commercial Director Bal Samba said: “[This] is the beginning of the amazing prospect of opening up the treasure trove of the BBC television archive, bringing people more of the BBC than ever ever before. The service is has a whole breadth of BBC content, much of it not available anywhere else in the market place and it is beautifully, beautifully curated.”

As well as making classic BBC content such as Only Fools and Horses available for digital purchase, the store will also be selling content for the first time on digital such as Dad’s Army and Morecambe and Wise. There will also be exclusive new programming such as Top Gear: Greatest Hits and Top Gear: The Races, in which Friends star Matt LeBlanc will take viewers through memorable moments from the show’s run so far.

BBC Store will be the most comprehensive range of BBC content anywhere. It will also be fully curated, allowing users to browse content from specially designed collections which will group similar shows together to improve accessibility of content for fans.

MD of BBC Worldwide’s UK Businesses Marcus Arthur said: “It’s got a highly curated element. [The content] is not just set to algorithms, there are people thinking about collections. […] That’s one of the things we think people will really really love.”

Fans of shows that are missing from the store will be able to request content be added via the BBC Store’s Twitter and Facebook handles.

Director of E-Commerce at BBC Store Steve Mozley said: “BBC Store is intended to be a conversation. It’s not our archive, it belongs to the UK. And so for us to go in and start mining the gems of the archived unguided by the audience would seem crass. […] That two way conversation is absolutely key.”

BBC Store will be fully compatible with BBC iPlayer, and purchases will be viewable both on iPlayer and the BBC Store website and app. Episodes of newly-aired BBC shows will be made available to purchase an hour after midnight following the day the show premieres on the BBC. The service will also warn people if they are buying content that is available on iPlayer for free.

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Has Chris Evans Let Slip The New Top Gear Premiere Date?

Uh-oh, has Radio Two DJ Chris Evans let slip the new Top Gear premiere date?

During an appearance at the Radio Festival in London on Tuesday (September 29), the broadcaster told delegates that “Top Gear is not on until May, that’s seven months, three days and 18 hours [from now]”.

When the BBC ended its relationship with Evans’s predecessor – and controversy causer – Jeremy Clarkson, the corporation immediately confirmed plans to bring Top Gear back to screens in 2016, leaving 2015 as a gap year for the show.

However, the BBC has since told Digital Spy that it won’t be confirming exact transmission dates for the show at the moment, despite Evans’ slip.

In other Top Gear related news, rumour has it the former TFI Friday host’s Big Breakfast producer Lisa Clark is set to join the all-new Top Gear crew, though Evans has gone on recently to deny reports claiming Zoe Ball had a screen test for the show.

Meanwhile, Clarkson and his former Top Gear co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May are gearing up to launch a new, big-budget motoring show on Amazon Prime, that is due to start filming in a matter of weeks. Their show is also due to premiere in 2016, with rumours currently pointing at an autumn launch. This means that if Evan’s tip is on point, the two shows could avoid an immediate clash – though the gamble is on to see if the former Top Gear trio can maintain their audience on a VOD platform.

And in a seemingly endless bout of controversy, Evans has further confirmed today that he’s stepping down as presenter of TFI Friday after the reboot 8-part series concludes, stating that he’s “not allowed” to host any more episodes of the Channel 4 entertainment programme.